Huawei has also introduced a folding tablet, but this one has the screen on the outside

On the plus side, that means they don’t need to bother with a second tiny screen like Samsung

On the downside, that means that when it’s closed there’s no way to put it down that can’t scratch the plastic screen

Also, this one costs about $2600 USD

Free games

Sony PS4

The Witness

2016

First person puzzle exploration game, a la Myst, developed by the creator of Braid

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

2016 remaster of the 2007 FPS

Classic first person military shooter with a somewhat dated story, but it’s the multiplayer that I feel really kicked off the multiplayer military shooter craze

In addition to the old game types they’ve also added modes like one called Prop Hunt, where players have to hide as inanimate objects from the opposing team

It looks like Sony isn’t increasing the number of PS4 games they’re handing out to make up for the PS3 and Vita titles they’re no longer offering

Microsoft

XBone

Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion

2018

In this open world turn-based RPG, the Land of Ooo has been flooded and you have to find out what happened while saving all your favourite characters from the TV show

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2

2016

Third person class-based shooter based on the old Plants vs Zombies tower defence mobile game

360

Metal Gear Rising Revengance

2013

Action hack and slash title from Platinum Games with the usual batshit Kojima plot and a Blade Mode mechanic that lets you slice up pretty much anything in slow motion

Still on of my favourite titles we played back when we did Let’s Play videos

Original

Star Wars: Republic Commando

2005

Tactical FPS set in the Star Wars universe during the Clone Wars, where you play as the leader of a squad of clone commandos completing missions for the Republic

I’ve heard good things about this one, but the closest I’ve come is reading the excellent Karen Traviss series of the same name

And just a reminder that all Games with Gold are playable on the XBone via backward compatibility

No Twitch games so far this month, but BONUS ROUND

FFXIV – R4WU GJYD 886Z LPW4 SSN3

Nintendo released a Pokemon Direct this week, introducing Pokemon Sword and Shield coming to the Switch later this year

Looks like the games have a full 3D setting in a new region called Galar, described as a more modern world with factories, trains, and steelworks in addition to idyllic countryside and contemporary cities

It looks like the new region may be based on the UK, with many features on the map appearing to match landmarks like Big Ben and the London Eye.

Even some of the characters’ clothing looks fairly British

And some good news for fans of previous generations- they showed that older Pokemon like Pikachu, Tyranitar, and Munchlax will all be making appearances along with the new gen

The newest trio of starters are grass-type Grookey, fire-type Scorbunny, and water-type Sobble

Facebook is launching a platform to compete with Patreon that’s worse in every conceivable way (which should be more of a challenge, considering some of the stuff that Patreon’s pulled in the past)

The most obvious problem is that compared to Patreon’s 5% cut of supporter dollars, Facebook wants up to 30%

They also reserve the right to offer free trials to subscriptions that won’t compensate creators

And they demand a “non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license” to use creator content, and “this license survives even if you stop using Fan Subscriptions”

So they have rights to use your content. And give it away. And sell it. Anywhere in the world. Without paying you a dime. Forever.

This is straight-up abusive, and the worst part is Facebook knows it- they’ve run trials, and when creators asked questions or pointed out problems in the terms their invites were revoked and they were summarily banned from the platform

Microsoft workers are calling on the company to cancel their new contract with the US military

The $479M contract would see HoloLens, Microsoft’s augmented reality headset, used by the army in what workers are calling a corruption of designers’ and engineers’ earlier work and an affront to those opposed to designing weapons for war

HoloLens was announced in 2015, but just this last November Microsoft reached an agreement to develop an “Integrated Visual Augmentation System” based on the tech

The technology is explicitly meant to “increase lethality by enhancing the ability to detect, decide and engage before the enemy”

While Microsoft has offered to accommodate employees opposed to developing tech for the military by moving them to other projects or teams, employees say that ignores the problem that they’re not properly informed of the uses of their work

A letter to Microsoft noted that “many engineers contributed to HoloLens before this contract even existed” on the assumption that it would be applied to fields like architecture, surgery, and space exploration, not helping people kill

Instead they argue that they’re now implicated as war profiteers

A Microsoft spokesperson, in a statement to The Guardian, didn’t respond to the criticisms but said the company “always appreciated feedback from employees”

THQ Nordic held an AMA this week on a website created because 4chan was too strict

For some reason they decided to host the Q&A session on 8chan- the website involved in incidents regarding child pornography, swatting, GamerGate, and more

8chan is a spinoff of 4chan, a site already notorious for racist, sexist, and inflammatory rhetoric, created out of a belief that 4chan was too limiting

Many thought that someone had hacked THQ Nordic’s social media, but were shocked when the session actually started and had two higher-level staff answering questions on that internet hellscape

PR and marketing director Philipp Brock responded to things like asking them not to appeal to the “SocJUs crowd” with “thanks! We’ll try to stay that way.”, and when one person asked “where the big tiddie lolis at?” with a picture of a many groping two girls, he replied “you got them already we’d say”

While this seems like a massive hacker stunt, with no way that a company would actually do this kind of thing, Vice contacted THQ Nordic and received this reply from Philipp Brock

“I personally agreed to this AMA without doing my proper due diligence to understand the history and the controversy of the site,” he said in a statement. “I do not condone child pornography, white supremacy, or racism in any shape or form. I am terribly sorry for the short-sightedness of my (!) decision, and promise to be far more vigorous in my assessment of these activities in the future. This was not about being edgy, this blew up and I very much regret to have done it in the first place.”

And while they’re backpedaling and looking for excuses, it’s not like 8chan is ever sneaky about what it’s doing. It’s pretty much what it says on the tin.

That, combined with the responses posted and the fact that their Twitter account is liking tweets supporting the AMA after the fact, makes the apology even weaker than it already is

OpenRA is a project that recreates and modernizes the classic Command & Conquer real time strategy games. We have developed a flexible open source game engine (the OpenRA engine) that provides a common platform for rebuilding and reimagining classic 2D and 2.5D RTS games (the OpenRA mods).

This means that OpenRA is not restricted by the technical limitations of the original closed-source games: it includes native support for modern operating systems and screen resolutions (including Windows 10, Mac OS X, and most Linux distros) without relying on emulation or binary hacks, and features integrated online multiplayer.

While we love the classic RTS gameplay, multiplayer game design has evolved significantly since the early 1990’s. The OpenRA mods include new features and gameplay improvements that bring them into the modern era:

A choice between “right click” and classic “left click” control schemes

Overhauled sidebar interfaces for managing production

Support for game replays and an observer interface designed for streaming games online

The “fog of war” that obscures the battlefield outside your units’ line of sight

Civilian structures that can be captured for strategic advantage

Units gain experience as they fight and improve when they earn new ranks

OpenRA is 100% free, and comes bundled with three distinct mods. When you run a mod for the first time the game can automatically download the original game assets, or you can use the original game disks.

They have Tibetan Dawn the original Command and Conquer, Red Alert the alternate history to WWII, and Dune 2000, possibly my favourite out of these 3.

DC Collectibles has created the ultimate Harley Quinn collectible- a full sized, 1:1 ratio statue of the Cupid of Crime herself. This stylish life-size statue is packed with larger-than-life personality, featuring Gotham’s very own Maid of Mischief decked out in her iconic red, black, and white costume.

Tidbits

If you’ve been saving your Scene points, you might want to redeem them soon- Cineplex is updating their rewards structure and raising the points cost of tickets as of April 17th

It’ll still take 10 movies to earn enough points for a free ticket, but that’s just because you’ll also be earning them more quickly as well. They’re being de-valued across the board

The popular disease simulation game Plague Inc is adding anti-vaxxers after receiving a player petition with over 21,000 signatures

The petition simply reads “Anti-vaxxers are stupid”

They’ll be joining the array of potential health risks in the game including science deniers, xenophobes, and reality TV induced apathy

We do a belated cover of the Smash Ultimate direct. As well as an intersection IMAX Marvel movie event thats happening across the country. Josh recommends a podcast with actor interviews and Alan recommends a podcast that can get a little dark.

For more info, Patreon supports get access to our show notes!

A huge thanks to Dalton, our favourite fan. And thanks to all our Official Fans that support us.
And if you want to support us too, its as easy as clicking this link!

Also, make sure to check out RIPT Apparel for sweet 24 tee shirt designs. And don’t forget to use the coupon code PS2JSHOW for 10% off!

Heroes of the Storm’s new event is out and we chat about it. Youtube is taking less control away from its users. Josh suggests a game we talked about a while ago, Alan recommends a movie thats out in theatres.

For more info, Patreon supports get access to our show notes!

A huge thanks to Dalton, our favourite fan. And thanks to all our Official Fans that support us.
And if you want to support us too, its as easy as clicking this link!

Also, make sure to check out RIPT Apparel for sweet 24 tee shirt designs. And don’t forget to use the coupon code PS2JSHOW for 10% off!